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Advancement
Advancement "....Graaaaah..." A husky voice yawned, patting at their sides. All seemed to be right with the world- with the constant thorn in her sides being kept at bay, it was a certain that she could advance with her schemes right now without fear of being confronted. Then again...That rumoured White Knight, and Gaillardia Nagareboshi were still roaming Soul Society, so she had to remain stealthy. Of course, gazing over at the young girl next to her, she prodded at her lightly, questioning, "...You're awake, right?" A young girl of pale complexion and raven hair turned over in her sleep, her moving arm colliding with the large breasts of the women next to her. The soft feeling seemed to register in her brain, as her eyes fluttered. Her golden eyes brimmed with light as she took in Kaede's appearance. "M-Master!" They had been sleeping in the same bed for quite awhile now, but the girl was still nervous whenever she awoke beside her. Kaede focused her eyes upon Kagome, noting her figure. "...Yes, good morning, it seems. Anyway, there's no time to be fooling around. We need to set this plan in motion." With that, she threw the sheet around her body, wandering down the stairs. Forgoing undergarments as always, Kagome slipped into one of the many loose white dresses she owned before fluttering downstairs after Kaede. "Have you decided to do nothing about the two clans as of yet, Master?" Kaede pressed her finger to her lip. "...Well, yes, and no...I plan to sever the connections of both through our power...and mind games...Then we can pick them off, one by one. As for now...it'd be best to see if we can finally eingineer that secret weapon...How is that coming, by the way?" She wandered into the kitchen, grabbing two slices of bread. "Progress is coming along steadily." Kagome replied. "We've had a few chemical backfires, but it's nearly completed." Kaede smiled warmly- a complete juxtaposition from the previous, smug tyrant that was witnessed in any other situation- it was as if Kaede was merely putting up a front. "...Most excellent." She slowly withdrew a knife from the cupboard, beginning to spread butter upon the bread in front of her. "...Take a seat, why don't you?" Kagome did as she was asked. She would do anything this woman told her, her love for Kaede was that strong. Kagome wasn't eating, she was staring at Kaede, her golden-eyes transfixed on this woman. Unfortunately, this was a daily habit. Kaede's smile remained affixed upon her face, as she handed Kagome a plate of toast. "...Now, our first priority is..." She gazed up at the time. "...Damn, 11:46? ...What happened last night..." She clutched her head lightly. "....Anyway, it's good that we can just...relax today. ...Well, at least for now. ...I'm assuming that blue-haired idiot will be calling soon..." "Um...Master?" Kagome looked like she was nervous to approach the subject. "I'm sorry for bringing this up, but, well, it crossed my mind again when I saw Kachihi...do you remember him? The boy we had?" At the mention of this, Kaede froze up. She was shaking lightly, though nevertheless, she cleared her mind, affirming, "...Yes. I...I..." She practically forced herself to continue, becoming teary-eyed. "...I'm not sure...I just...He...he looks like him so much..." She clenched her fist. "...Maybe he's..." At that moment, she blurted out, "...He could be his reincarnation!" Oh, how she yearned to go back to the peaceful days...She'd do anything, just to live for one more day- the three together...It was so unusual for Kaede to act like this... Kagome silently bit into a piece of toast, chewing on it slowly, each mouth movement deliberate as she mulled something over. "We could take the boy. With a bit of magic, we could easily brainwash him to our side." Her amber eyes twinkled with joy at this idea. She and Kaede could be mothers again. It would be nice to have an adopted child again, no matter how...unorthodox their plans were. Kaede pressed her finger to her soft lips, sporting an uncharacteristically pleasant smile. "...You know...that's much easier than my plans." She sighed, however. "...However, his mind is strong- and his psychic powers are even moreso. We should keep a backup..." her eyes narrowed. "Just in case... It does raise the question though...How will his other loved ones...deal with his departure..." While this was an absolutely splendid idea, Kaede did have a concience- and thus, it was unusual for her to care about the repercussions of her plans. "Hmmm...I didn't get that far..." She murmured. "They'd come to get him back I'm sure...except Gai, I don't think he cares..." She frowned, eating more toast. "It sounded like a good plan when I mentioned it...I'm sorry.." Suddenly, a brillaint idea popped up in Kaede's mind. "Let me tell you something...It is a good idea...Though... let's say that capturing him would prove beneficial for our plans...Though it would, it's like a pie. A better layer underneath the original layer. Tell Akane, Tsubaki, and Natsuko to put our plans on hold. Let us succeed in this...Now with their strongest members having departed, there's nothing basically stopping us..." "Of course Master." Kagome said, obedient as always. "Um...I don't like being forward, but, can I please have a hug?" Kaede's smile lit up her entire face. "...You...don't need to ask, you know..." Almost instinctively, she grasped at the air- though being rather shy, she merely grasped the air before walking forward slightly, embracing her subordinate tightly. She shuddered slightly- blushing and stammering, before separating quick-snap, backing off shyly. "...I...uh...you..." Kagome smiled, her golden eyes closing as she embraced Kaede. She took in the woman's scent. Despite what she was, it was strangely floral. "I love you too, Master."And then she broke the embrace to go relay the orders to her teammates. That was the Kaede the Nagareboshi clan needed to get to know. The loving, slightly awkward Master Kagome knew. It didn't take long for Kagome to deliver her message to everyone involved in the plans, before she returned to her Master. Kaede clenched her fists, making a 'yes' gesture- it could be seen clearly that she was obviously excited. "...Yesssssssss...." rolling her tongue on that 's', the blonde-haired woman's eyes seemed to sparkle for the briefest of moments, though she quickly regained her 'composure'. "...Now, let's go, shall we? One fell swoop is all it'll take..." "Master, I have to ask, what happens if we fail in procuring the boy? Do the plans proceed as originally intended?" Kaede froze up. "...Well, I'm..." she pressed her fingers to her lips. "....I will get back to you on that one. For now, imput the co-ordinates of the place of those fools...It seems that they've dissapeared off the face of Soul Society, though...Nevertheless, we should be able to track them." "Well, there's a problem." Kagome held up the device she was holding to import the co-ordinates into, and there was a strange musical number. On the screen were multiple images of Kaito Kurui's face, flashing around in different directions with party music playing. Written under his face was the word "Problem?" "The science guy..." She sighed. "He's interfering with reception..." Kaede's eyes sharpened. "...Damn man of science, why must you continue to restrict me!" Banging her fist against a wall, she was beside herself in anger. "...That's it." She took Kagome aside. When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! I don't want your damn lemons! What am I supposed to do with these results?! Demand to see life's manager! Make life rue the day it thought it could give me lemons! Do you know who I am?! I'm the woman who's gonna burn your house down! WITH THE LEMONS! I'M GONNA GET MY ENGINEERS TO INVENT A COMBUSTIBLE LEMON THAT BURNS YOUR HOUSE DOWN!" Regaining her composure, Kaede sighed. "...Excuse me. I do mean, search time." "Master...?" Kagome looked closer at her Master's face. Even though she had ceased her small tantrum, Kagome was concerned. "Are you all right to proceed?" Kaede dusted her hands together. "...Y-Yes... I, I don't know what came over me..." She shook slightly, though she put on the facade of being perfectly calm. "...Either way, it would be wise for us to leave at this instant- I hazzard a guess that they're still recovering from our attack, so the time to strike would be ripe." "While the time to strike is indeed opportune, Master, the interference is still a bit of a problem." The party music continued to sound from the device the girl was holding, her golden eyes full of annoyance directed solely at the scientist who was interfering with her Master's plan. Kaede slammed her fist against the wall in anger. "...Damn it all..." Then, there had to be another option. "...Alright, going by where they transported, we should be able to utilize the faint spiritual trail left over by their residence to find them without troubles." With that, Kaede Mikazuki quickly darted off, though not before she managed to grab an umbrella. "...Well, it's raining. What kind of idiot wouldn't take one?" Kagome giggled as she followed her master out of the house. Natsuko was watching them quietly. They were going to fetch the boy, and soon the plan would be put into action. She frowned. She had other things on her mind. "Akane..." She murmured under her breath. Encounter Trudging down the streets of Rukongai, Kaede sighed as the rain pelted down a mile a minute. The sound of rain falling from the heavens rung in her ears, as a torrential downpour shot down from the grey skies. Growling, the disgruntled Dragon Tenjugekido shielded herself from droplets which were pelting her body with the umbrella, drawing Kagome in closer lovingly. "...I'm guessing, this should be a snap. Their strongest members have dissapeared- there should be nothing standing in our way. The rest should fall like cows to a slaughter, and we can be very well on our merry way." Kagome loved the floral scent of her master. "I don't want to sound like I have no confidence, Master, but the scientist is with them, he could pose a problem." Kaede tousled Kagome's hair lightly. "...It should be no problem. Remember what I had acquired from the Nagareboshi clan during the war...It should be quick and effortless. Magic trumps science, so that man of science should cower beneath our might." Following through, she was almost distracted by a cake shop, mouth watering and all- though she quickly snapped back to her senses. "...Don't. Say. A. Word." Kagome looked puzzled. She obeyed the order however, despite her confusion as to why. "...What? They're selling those cute little ice cream things I like for half-off. You can't blame me." Kaede snapped out of her funk. "...Alright, focus here. We've got some," Kaede licked her lips. ", Kids to abduct." "I would like to be the first to point out how nefarious that sounds." A quiet woman's voice came from the trees. Kagome looked up first and saw a girl, a Shinigami, sitting in the tree branches looking down on them. "My master figured you would be making a play for us, and he stationed me far out as one of the lookouts." Momo Hinamori was stationed as a guard. Kaede clicked her tongue in exasperation. "...Tch. I should have known that man of science would have set up a minor inconvienence for us. Nevertheless..." She drew her blade; a traditional nodachi. "...Have at me, why don't you?" WHOOSH! In an instant, Kaede dissapeared in a flash of light, slicing straight through the tree that Momo was perched in in the blink of an eye. And she quickly collided with a Kidō net that Momo had stationed just behind the tree as the girl vanished from her branch with Shunpō. Coursing through the net was a vast current of lightning, possibly a delayed reaction Tsuzuri Raiden. She descended on Kagome, drawing her sword. "Snap, Tobiume!" She vanished once more with Shunpō, appearing behind Kagome in an instant, catching the girl off guard. "Bakume!" She swing her blade, releasing a total of five fire balls from it which exploded on contact and sent Kagome back with minor burns. "Graaah...!" Kaede spat vehemently. A 'shocking' feeling coursed into her body, zapping down her spine for the briefest of moments. In a burst of vermillion, Kaede freed herself, noticing the harm that had just been inflicted upon Kagome. Her eyes sharpened before she shot forward like a bullet, her fist shooting towards Momo with incomprehensible speeds, aiming to tear a large hole within the young girl's body. "Bakume!" She swung her blade, releasing a fire ball half the size of the Chrysler Building, and the moment it neared the woman, she made sweeping motions with her sword, scattering it into over a thousand fire bullets. "Hmph." Kaede nimbly dodged the bullets- or so she thought as several of them pierced her body- though she didn't react at all, before leaping into the air and slamming down with her blade, aimed at Momo's head. Momo made to dodge it, but the blow struck her shoulder, severing off it along with her left arm, causing blood to spurt furiously. The brute damage was too much to take the and young girl fainted on the spot. Kagome looked on in awe. "N-nice shot Master..." Kaede quickly rushed over to Kagome, assisting her in standing, lifting the young girl up into her arms and cradling her. "...Are you hurt? ....We can put this off if you are, okay? Just say the word..." "No, I'm fine." Kagome assured her. "I was simply surprised." She ushered her master to be on their way. As they left Momo to bleed, a young woman with orange hair and a rather large chest appeared behind them as they left. When they were out of sight, a bright glow illuminated Momo. Kagome yawned as they kept walking. "Do you think the scientist has other guards? He can't think just that one girl would stop you." Kaede placed her finger to her lip. "...I do believe that he does...Though maybe he doesn't. I pray that he doesn't, however. It would make completing this objective a whole lot easier. I am tempted..." She glanced down. "...To use that to make this a whole lot easier..." "That'd be anticlimactic, Master." Kagome pointed out. "Besides, it just seems to be low level garbage. Why waste your energy on...DUCK!!!" She dragged herself and her master to the ground as a pink blast of crescent shaped energy flew over them. "I can't believe he stationed me as a guard." A girl's sharp, irritated voice sounded out and they looked to see a girl with short, but bright, orange hair, holding a sword that was much to big for her. She could have been a lesbian, if they were to let common misconceptions get to them. "Who...?" Kagome was about to ask, but her question was answered. A small screen was floating down next to the girl, who eyed it with contempt. Ichigo Kurosaki/ Age 17 Hair Color/ Orange Eye Color/ Brown Occupation/ Shinigami Protector of Yasuraka Town "Oh get out of here!!!" She smashed it to pieces with the hilt of Zangetsu, and she could have sworn she'd heard Kaito's chuckle. "Well, you saw it. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, substiute Shinigami." Slaying the Moon Kaede gritted her teeth as she assisted Kagome in standing to her feet. "...Oh, so that man of science has dug up some ancient technology to face moi?" Seriously, it was eons since she saw that...face. Nevertheless, she welcomed such a challenge with open arms. "...Yes, I did see it! But if I felt like it, my profile would be more extravagent. So ha! Suck on that..." She straightened up. "...Anyway, enough of this silliness." Her eyes narrowed. "Ichigo Kurosaki, imitation of the hero of old...!" She swung her blade forward, unleashing a blast of crimson in her direction. "...Prepare to descend into the abyss!" "Even if I don't like being used by that man, you are a problem." Ichigo lifted her blade. "Let's go, Zangetsu." She vanished, speed always her strong suit, and appeared behind Kaede, swinging Zangetsu up with a vengeance. "...Watch out...!" Kaede cried out, before grabbing Kagome by the collar and throwing her out of the way, leaving little to no time for her to properly defend herself- using Marishaten to weakly block Ichigo's strike, accidently allowing the blade to run down her arm, drawing blood. Gritting her teeth, Kaede spat, "...Damn woman...!" At that instant, she swung her blade at Ichigo in fuming retaliation. Ichigo used Zangetsu's broad side as a shield to deflect the blow, causing it to send her back. "Damn she's good." She ran forward, before vanishing appearing at the large breasted woman's side and swung Zangetsu at her ankles, specifically tendons. "...!" Kaede's eyes widened, before instinctively hopping slightly into the air, quickly landing upon the broad side of Zangetsu's blade. There, she gripped her blade with both hands, swinging forward, unleashing a powerful blade of pressure in the form of faint ripples of wind almost point-blank at Ichigo. Still balancing upon the blade, she prepared a second strike, spinning around with a devastating kick that she aimed to use to break her foe's concentration. The blast of energy consumed Ichigo, hiding her from sight. Kagome looked on, her eyes aglow. "Marvelous, Master!" When the light from her attack cleared, Ichigo wasn't standing. She didn't seem to be anywhere at all. Kagome thought they'd be moving along, before a flash. Ichigo appeared, directly in front of Kaede, her eyes brimming with confidence, her blade glowing a bright pink, robes frayed and head bleeding slightly. "Getsuga Tenshō!" She swung cried as she swung her blade at Kaede's neck, releasing the blast point blank. "...Hurk...!" A painful sound was released from Kaede's throat, as she felt the full impact of such an attack spread across her body to every sensation of her being. In an instant, she was blown away with tremendous force, scrambling across the ashpalt which was torn up with her every stumbling movement. Planting Marishaten into the ground, Kaede halted her descent, immediately rushing to Kagome's side to shield her from Ichigo. Swiftly, Kaede activated her Shikai, manifesting a large sphere from nothingness, drawing in spiritual energy every second, before flinging at Ichigo with overwhelming force. "This ends...here!" "How did she survive that?" Ichigo's thoughts ran rampant for maybe a second. "It ends for you!" She dashed forward, the speed almost seeming to stretch her out as she swung Zangetsu straight at Kaede's face, the large cleaver aiming to take her head to the ground. "...!" Kaede couldn't react- it...it felt like a miracle. For a moment there, she grasped onto the blade of the cleaver...with her teeth, chomping down upon the blade with all of her might. With a hefty motion, Kaede swung forward, throwing Ichigo a fair distance- charging herself in crimson spiritual energy, Kaede then shot forward like a bullet, aiming to knock her foe out then and there with one swift motion- a pleasing butterfly kick. "What the...!?" Ichigo caught herself while flying, skidding along the air...only to quickly receive a foot to the face and continue towards the tree she'd be rocketing to, snapping it clean in half on impact. "Son of a..." She grumbled, getting to her feet with Zangetsu as a crutch. She vanished, appearing above Kaede, swinging Zangetsu by it's chain, which she seemed to be able to lengthen at will. This was Hollow Ichigo's Deadly Darts technique, though she didn't know it as she send Zangetsu's blade flying forward very much like a dart toward's Kaede's shoulder, keeping a firm grip on the chain. "...Damn projectiles!" Kaede gritted her teeth, nimbly evading the blade of the Slaying Moon with an impressive display of swift footwork, translocating with a *WHOOSH!* sound behind Ichigo, Marishaten raised above her foe's head, swinging down with tremendous force... Ichigo vanished, simply dodging downward which made it easier to escape, and she called Zangetsu back to her. Her body suddenly felt rather hot, and she could feel it altering slightly. She was becoming taller, and more built, facial features less soft, sharper, more defined. Ichigo sighed, a sigh of relief. "So I'm back to normal again." He picked up his blade, appearing in the air looking directly at Kaede. This was the body he was used to it. Kaede snarked, "...Huh. Not the craziest thing I've seen lately." A guy who transformed into a girl- it wasn't too affecting on her stability. Nevertheless, her eyes sharpened as she shot forward like a bullet, bobbing and weaving around Ichigo for SOME reason- which was quickly revealed to be..."Falling Star!" Shooting into the air, Kaede crashed down, aiming at Ichigo with her feet to aim to inflict a powerful drop kick. Ichigo, a speedster himself, was able to track her movements, and grabbed her by the ankle before her kick set in, reveling in his greater amount of strength, before throwing her straight down towards the ground. Kagome, acting fast, caught her master, holding her somewhat like a princess. Kaede seemed to cough up a fair amount of blood- this, of course didn't deter her from gently hopping out of Kagome's arms, though not before tousling her hair. "...Thank you." She seemed to smile for a brief moment, before rushing back to the fight- barrelling forward with tremendous speed, Kaede curled up into a ball and shot in Ichigo's direction like a cannonball, possessing incredible force. Ichigo extended both hands, keeping Zangetsu between his thumb and index, and she collided with his palms with extreme force causing the trees below to shake and rattle, but not roll. The very force began to push him back as he tried to strengthen the reishi under his feet. "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" With great strength, he forced Kaede to spiral down like a volleyball strike. He raised Zangetsu over his head. "Getsuga Tenshō!" He swung, releasing a blast of energy so massive when it collided with the ground where Kaede would be, it spiked up in a pillar as well. "...Gh!" Kaede skidded against the ground, before planting Marishaten into the ground, bringing her sliding to an abrupt halt. Thrusting her weapon forward, Kaede absorbed the blast, before spinning around, declaring, "Getsuga Tenshō!", unleashing a pitch-black blast of spiritual energy right back at Ichigo with overwhelming power and speed. "What!?" The blast collided with Ichigo, creating a gigantic explosion. It died down and Ichigo fell from the sky, hitting the ground hard. He didn't stay down too long, before getting right back up. His left sleeve was completely gone, his arm nearly charred and the left side of his face was bruised as well. "I'm not going to panic over that. You're a threat Kaede, and I won't fall until I stop you." He raised his blade. "Ban...KAI!" He was enveloped in a massive blast of blue energy which shot up in a large pillar, before it died down in a spiral around him. His Bankai was different than he expected, but he didn't take too much of a note of it. He launched forward, appearing in front of Kaede, swinging his blade straight up. The force of the blade swing released a powerful ken'natsu that struck before the blade even made contact. "Guaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Kaede screeched in pain as the ken'atsu blasted through her body, kicking up the asphalt and leaving a large explosion of dust in it's wake. Kaede smirked. "...Just a minor change, eh?" Quickly, she dissapeared into the murky skies from the clearing, though it could easily be seen that lightning began to crash down upon the streets of Soul Society- though she took no notice of this- effortlessly skating down to meet her foe, dissapearing behind him and throwing a high-kick at his face. Ichigo ducked and pushed her over his body, before jumping back and turning on her. "Getsuga Tenshō!" He released a medium-sized black crescent surrounded by blue aura towards her. "...Damn!" Kaede swifly absorbed the blast and sent it back in the form of an more agressive-looking Getsuga. "Hup!" Ichigo swung his sword down on the Getsuga, using his strength to send it right back at Kaede. Kagome look on with wide-eyes. Kaede yelled, "...What?!" Before following up, reflecting it back at Ichigo. "...Kagome, please do watch. There'll be no peanuts or crackerjacks, but this is a BALL GAME." "Y-Yes Master!" Kagome nodded Ichigo vanished, applying his enhanced speed to move around Kaede, leaving various after images to confuse her. Everytime he closed in, he'd leave a minor cut before vanishing and repeating the action. Kagome's eyes couldn't keep up. Kaede gritted her teeth. "...Enough playing around!" With a burst of spiritual energy, Kaede shot into the air at high speeds, leaving crimson streaks of energy in her wake. Descending to the ground like a meteor descending to earth, Kaede swung around like a torrent of destruction, aiming to obliterate all the clones and than Ichigo in one fell swoop. Ichigo launched himself downward, rapidly descending and increasing in both speed and power. His sword collided with Kaede's, causing massive reverberations in the air. They began to rapidly ascend, coated in the energy of their clash. Trees began to wilt, the clouds parted to make way for the fighting gods. And then Ichigo broke the clash, forcing the two away from each other before he skidded back. Kaede planted Marishaten in the ground, before remarking, "...Lost technology is faring much better than me than I expected. It seems..." Her eyes seemed to change colour. "...I'll have to go all out." Dark energy amassed around her body. "All who live, the time for thee to return to your beginning has come! The white altar is here! O Heavens, take heed! O earth, incline thy ears!" Her body became clad in red and white biomechanical armour formed over green, vine-like cables and wires emanating from a central point within. The plating on her forearms, shoulders, and knees bore strange, skull-like shapes, with hollowed eyes and long horns, like the heads of demons. "...Shūen no Ginga!" BANG! An extremely powerful blast of spiritual energy was released from her palms, ripping through the air in an attempt to obliterate her foe. Ichigo didn't dodge in time, and the technique hit him full-on, resulting in a blood-curdling scream of pain as lightning coursed through his body, shredding his upper clothing and causing burns and bleeding. As he fell to the ground, he began to shrink slightly, returning to female form...with no shirt. Luckily that mattered not as she hit the ground flat on her stomach, unconscious. Kaede instantly reverted to her regular form, dusting herself as she turned to Kagome, grasping her hand. Wounds could be seen littered all over her body- she was barely breathing, but still alive as far as Kagome could tell. "...Kagome. These age old heroes are not to be taken lightly, understand?" She lightened up, showing a small smile before embracing her tightly. "...Now, come on...Let's take what's rightfully ours, shall we?" Kagome's eyes glistened at the thought as she embraced her Master. "Yes Master. If all goes right, we'll be parents again." Drive The thunder continued to crash down around the two, as they finally reached their destination. It was beginning to get darker and darker in the atmosphere- their faint dual spiritual pressure could be felt from the house. "...Huh...?" Yuuki's eyes sharpened, motioning to the kids to stay still. "...Don't make a move, okay? I don't want any of you getting hurt." With that, Yuuki Kaburagi carefully walked outside, almost dropping everything at the mere sight of the two. Kagome looked over at Yuuki. "Yuuki-san, so nice of you to come out and greet us personally." She was such an amiable girl. Yuuki focused on Kagome, walking forward warily. "...Uhm, hello..." She wasn't sure what to make of them after last time. "...What business..." she gripped her cleaver behind her back. "...Do you have here?" Kaede, of course, remained quiet, as she didn't know the meaning of the word 'subtle' even if it smacked her over the head with a brick. "We're here for...adoption." She nodded vigorously as she found the right word. "That's right. Here for adoption." Yuuki smiled sweetly as usual. "...Erm, I must apologize. You can't have any of them. ...Except Kasumi." "...Hey!" Kasumi called out. "...Yes, that's right." Yuuki retorted. "...But seriously, no way. I'm sorry." "So, you're going to deprive two women of the chance to adopt a child, Yuuki?" Kagome sounded hurt, and her innocent girlish face gave off the impression Yuuki had struck a child. "That's discrimination. I thought we were friends..." Yuuki sighed. "...Fine, then. Damn your easily huggable face." She led them inside, to which Kachihi, Rika, Senji, Kasumi, and Zakura glanced up. Zakura looked as if he were about to attack the two, but Yuuki's facial expressions read 'I know, there's not much we can do about it'. Zakura gritted his teeth as Kachihi remained wary of the two. The moment Kagome spotted Kachihi, she moved faster than anyone could have dreamed possible, her dress fluttering and giving anyone with decent eyes a view of her butt as she appeared in front of Kachihi, knocked him out with fifteen swift blows delivered in one second to his abdomen and slung him over her should before appearing next to her Master. "Master, I have him, let's go!" She turned to Yuuki. "You all say kidnap, I say surprise adoption." Kaede's eyes sharpened, grabbing onto Kagome's hand. "...Ta-ta, friends. I do not believe we'll be seeing each other again under these circumstances." As a swift *whirr* sound eminated from Kaede's figure, the two plus Kachihi Amagase quickly dissapeared into nothingness. Yuuki's eyes merely widened as she collapsed onto the floor, shaking unstably. "...Ka...Kachihi...They-they took him..." Tears were flowing out of her eyes as she descended into a screaming fit, Zakura rushing over to her and attempting to soothe her. Megami, who had just been downstairs, came up holding the twins once again like they were infants. And once again, they were simply sleeping against her just. "I heard a shriek that sounded like a dying bat, then I realized with was Yuuki. What happened?" Zakura gave Megami a quick look. "...Kaede, that other girl, they just snatched Kachihi out of thin air. ...I don't believe this. Yuuki's never been so guillable before..." "Gullible?" It took the mother of three only a second to digest this. "You mean you willingly let them in?" She asked incredulously. "Are you mad?" Yuuki murmured, "...They guilt tripped me- my case was similar to their own a long time ago...I don't know what came over me..." She punched the ground; the tears wouldn't stop flowing. Megami spluttered with irritation. Her nose began to bleed a bit. Rika looked over at her. "Are you ok?" He asked, concern. "I'm fine, it's merely an aneurysm out of sheer stupidity..." It's a good thing she was holding onto the children, she might smack Yuuki. "What exactly did they tell you?" Yuuki cried, "They told me if I didn't let them I'd be discriminating and that, they'd break our friendship..." Zakura applied his palm to his forehead in exasperation. "...Dammit that's stupid. No offense, but seriously, how dumb do you have to be?" "They started a war with our clan and you fucking care about being friends with them!?" Megami slumped to the ground. "I am officially dumbfounded. We've just lost my grandkid because of stupidity right of out a cliche shounen series!" Yuuki couldn't stop bawling as she curled up into a fetal position on the ground, mumuring something incomprehensible. Zakura scratched his head, trying to diffuse the situation, before wandering over to Megami, questioning, "...Alright. So what are we gonna do about this? We don't know where they are..." "I guess we check with Kaito." Otou murmured, floating into the midst of the group. "Yes, I heard what was going on." She turned to Yuuki. "Don't let it eat at you, Yuuki. You were just being considerate, even if it was a bit...er...ill-timed." Outou was nice. Yuuki forced a broken smile. "You...you're right...But still...!" Zakura gave Yuuki a hearty pat on the back in an attempt to reassure her. "...Well, you're heart was in the right place, honey, that's all that..." He twitched. "...Yeah, you fucked up pretty badly." "We aren't gonna save him if you're crying." Outou said reprovingly, but her voice was still very kind. She placed a hand on her head, acting very much her age now. "You'll have to buck up if you want to be of assistance." Yuuki stood to her feet, making a determined gesture by rolling her sleeves up. "...You're right. I apologize for before." She glanced around blankly. "...Uhm, how do we get to Kaito? Ehehehehe." The air began to rip and move apart like a zipper as Hiyori stepped into the living room. "Yo! Red-head and pinky!" Her tone was as abrasive as ever as Megami and Zakura looked up in her direction. Zakura scratched his head, sighing sacrastically, "...Well, this is a, uh, how should I say, 'pleasant' surprise. ...Good timing. We need help- urgently. Can you track down Kachihi for us?" He feared that Gai would find out about this and then there'd be hell to pay. Hiyori smacked Zakura into the wall with her sandal, hissing. "Quiet Pinkie! I didn't come here to take your orders! Kaito wants to talk with you two, just get your asses into the portal!" "...'P-Pinkie'!? ...Great, another nickname..." Zakura scowled as he recovered from that blow, before obediently doing as the PMS-prone little girl said and hopping into the portal. Megami left the twins with their mother and followed. The portal quickly led them to Kaito's office, where Hiyori stepped out. "Kaito! I brought the homo and Megami here!" Zakura snapped, "Oi, don't insult people because of their sexuality-" he quickly straightened up. "-erm, hello. Alright..." he glanced around. "...This is gonna sound wierd, but we need to save Kachihi from that blonde-haired bitch and her little girlfriend. You DO know how to get to them, right?" He wringed his arms in a panic. "Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry!" He was a moment's notice away from shaking Kaito silly. "Who knows what she could be doing!?" Kaito came out of the basement, looking rather tired. He looked up in the direction of his visitors. "Oh, hello! It's nice to see Hiyori got you here in one piece." Hiyori scoffed. "They had something to tell you." Kaito looked curious. "Oh? Something to tell me?" Zakura growled. "...I repeat my previous statement. Directions. Now." He sighed. "...Kachihi was taken by Kaede and her little girlfriend. I was thinking, since you're the science guy, you'd know how to pinpoint their location." He twirled his hair. "...Do you, or do you not?" "You move to fast." Kaito replied, sighing. "Not even remotely curious about why I had Hiyori go get you?" Zakura shook his head with that same dumbass look plastered upon his face. "Nope. Now tell us how to get this done." Kaito sighed. "I'm ignoring you for right now, Zakura." He hit a few keys on the keyboard and two cylinders rose from the desk, opening and revealing two small glowing sphere. Kaito picked them up and tossed them to Megami and Zakura, who each caught one. "What are these?" Megami eyed them warily. "Stunners of sorts." Kaito replied genially. "Designed to stun Tenjōgekido upon activation. When I called Zakura here last time, to use him for an experiment, I kept a bit of his reiatsu to make a product like this...just in case." Zakura's eyes feasted upon these cylinders, remarking, "Oi, you, science guy..." He scratched his head. "So, do you honestly think these will work? Remember how damn fast she is. More importantly, this is a serious matter. Who knows what they could be doing to him as we speak..." "I suppose you'd rather I used it on you?" Kaito said icily. "These are meant to be used at close range. I already know your plan to to exorcise the woman, these will make it easier. With both of your clans, you can distract her long enough to stun her with these, and then the exorcism can be conducted." Zakura growled. "...Touch me with those things and I'll...well, I don't know what I'll do, but it'll be very messy. Like...missing body parts messy. I'm not kidding." He let off a short smile for a moment, before turning to Megami. "...Sounds like a plan, doesn't it? All we need is the significant force enough to actually distract her. She'll just knock mooks down like a snake under a sugarcane truck." "I'll provide you with additional forces if you need it." Kaito threw Megami a remote. "Just signal with that. Now...for your kid. I have no idea at all where to find Kaede." At that moment, Zakura suffered an instantenous collapse in response, kinda like one of those animes. "....Great. You're the smartest person I know aside from Yuuki." Everyone gave him a 'what the hell' look. "...I'm not kidding." Megami punched him into the wall. "You just insulted the rest of the family." Kaito chuckled as Hiyori snickered. "Luckily, I have someone who can help you." He pressed a few more keys on the keyboard and a hole in the ground opened up, releasing a blast of cold air. Up rose the form of an unconscious young man, chained to a table. Arata quickly opened his eyes, regaining conciousness. "Oh, come on. It ruins my badass entrance." Swiftly, Arata attempted to break the chains...to no avail, before resulting to begging, "C'mon, you said you'd let me out yesterday. Don't make me call my pirate crew." ...Then again, he was seriously reconsidering that, remembering that they all haven't seen him out of his armour. "The Soul Society wouldn't let them past the membrane." Kaito pointed out, snapping his fingers as the chains came undone. "Arata here knows the way. He will lead you." Megami walked over to Arata, looking him over. It was clear to anyone who knew her what she was doing. Arata was being considered for an addition to her collection. Arata spat, "...What the hell do you want?" He inched back little by little, sweat beading on his forehead as he stuttered, "...Damn, you look so much like Gai..." Megami bent down in front of the boy, and kissed him full on the mouth. The ground beneath them began to glow and Arata's eyes grew unfocused. On his back, unseen to them, the kanji spelling Megami's nickname, Gōkan, carved itself into his back. The boy was now her property, her slave. "I believe I'll call you Akita." Zakura doubled back, upon seeing such a sight. "...Wait, really? He's Gai's adopted kid. How could you do such a- ...I don't want the same happening to me. I'll shut up now." "That was both unique and unexpected." Kaito replied, his free eye didn't seem remotely surprised however. Megami looked at Arata. "Akita, can you stand?" Arata nodded with his soulless eyes, standing to his feet, tongue out like an obedient dog. Zakura remained skeptical. "...Are you sure Gai won't get mad at you for this...?" "No son ever stays mad at his mother." Megami told him. "Not that you would ever know." Kaito took for rectangles and place them on the walls to form a large "door", which immediately opened into a portal. "You three go on from here. I'll send everyone else when Megami contacts me with the remote." Zakura scratched his head. "...Still, only the three of us? ...This isn't too good of an idea." He paused for a moment. "...You're smarter than the rest of us. I'll take your word for it..." Still grumbling, Zakura stepped forward, though he didn't kick up a stink. "You'll go first and leads us." Megami smiled to Arata. "Don't worry Akita, I'll keep you safe from the back, you're my new toy after all." "Anyone find this woman disturbing?" Hiyori snapped from over at a desk. Zakura sighed. "Yes. Just let him go, take Kasumi back, Yuuki and I don't care." He quickly took back his words, however. Arata kept that same drool smile and all plastered upon his face as he walked forward. "No." Megami replied as they stepped into the portal and she stroked Arta's cheek. "He's mine." ---- Kagome was sitting in an illustrious room, directly in front of a king sized bed where Kachihi Amagase lay sleeping under sheets of soft silk on a matress of the softest cotton covered in pure satin. The room itself was fit for at least a young prince. Chandeliers hung like diamonds from the ceiling, there was a private fridge for one's own use, various shelves containing items from the latest books to the latest games, and just a plethora of various things. It looked as if the two had splurged themselves to make a room like this, but the money required had been nothing for them. Kagome's smile as gentle and expectant as she waited for Kachihi to wake up. Kachihi tossed and turned on the bed, growling, calling out an unknown name. Quickly, he jerked upright, as if yanked by a puppeteer's string. "...Gah...!" Glancing straight at Kagome, Kachihi remarked, "...Wait, what? What the....Why are you here? More importantly, where am I?" "Ahhh, you're awake." Kagome smiled. "Don't worry, Master will explain everything to you, don't worry." Kaede stumbled in. "...Oh, you're awake." She clasped her hands wandering towards Kachihi, holding his hand gently- Kachihi fidgeted for a moment. "...What do you want and why am I here?!" Kachihi snapped, pushing her away angrily. Kaede showed no signs of annoyance for once, merely taking his hand once again. "...We've adopted you, so to speak." She put it as bluntly as possible, causing Kachihi to freeze up. Kagome placed a hand on his head. "We're your new parents, basically." She smiled lovingly at the boy. "You'll stay, won't you?" She pulled the same innocently sad look that had won Yuuki over onto Kachihi. The moe was not easily reresisted. Kachihi was effortlessly drawn in by the literally over nine-thousand moe level Kagome was emitting. "...Gah, fine..." Of course, he wanted to learn more about them- there had to be a reason for the war. Nobody started wars for no good reason. He put up a forced smile, responding while nodding, "...Uh, yeah...sure..." Kaede's eyes narrowed for a moment, realizing that the boy had his own intent before calming herself. "...Kagome, why don't you go and make Kachihi some breakfast, perhaps?" "Oh?" Kagome was surprised, but was eager to help. "Of course Master! Kachihi, do you want anything in particular?" Kachihi politely informed her, "...Uhm, I'd like my bacon extra crispy..." Kaede merely stood still by the doorway, keeping her eyes affixed upon Kachihi, monitoring his every movement. "...So you're trying to get a deal out of this as well...ehehehe, we'll see, we'll see..." Kagome was busying herself down in the kitchen, having removed her dress to don an apron. This meant, however, she was literally wearing only an apron. She busied herself putting bacon on a skillet, and, for who knows what reason, sprinkling salt onto the bacon. She cracked three eggs bowl and began to beat them, sprinkling sugar inside these. What a strange way to cook. Naked and dabbling spices. Kaede eagerly watched Kagome, her eyes focused on what was revealed of her body as Kachihi merely stood there, dumbfounded, causing him to question, "...This is normal?" Kaede nodded nonchalantly. "...Yep." Kagome waltzed over to her Master, still beating the eggs, and kissed her happily. She was always in a better mood when she was in the kitchen. She ladled the eggs into the pan on the back range as she checked on the bacon. Despite not even having tasted breakfast, Kachihi was drooling like nobody's business just by the smell of the bacon. "...So...hungry..." Kaede was drooling for, ahem, different reasons. "...So...hungry..." "You'll both get what you want to eat, though Master, you'll have to wait until later for what you're craving." She winked. She ladled eggs onto plates for each of them, and placed bacon strips atop them. Kachihi's were at perfect crispiness. As she placed the plates on the table, she turned to Kachihi. "So, you'll stay as our son, right?" Kachihi wasn't sure what to say, in all honesty. So far, these people weren't as bad as Gai has been saying. It seemed he didn't have much choice anyway. "...Alright..." Before he knew it, Kaede picked him up with a bear hug- almost crushing his bones in the process. Kagome kissed the boy on the hand before ruffling his hair. "You've made us very happy, Kachihi." Kachihi merely nodded in surprise. Maybe now he'd be able to learn more about them...."...Ri-right..." ---- Arata, quickly followed by Megami and Zakura, stepped out of the portal and were greeted by beautiful forest scenery. Looming in the distance was a large mansion. "You know...this is far from covert, how she has that damn thing positioned." Megami sighed as she pressed the switch which alerted Kaito to send the family. "Zakura, should we wait here for the rest?" Zakura nodded. "...Yes. It'd be for the best. Otherwise, we'd be overwhelmed by sheer force and numbers." With those words of wisdom from the dolt, they sat down and decided to rest, Megami bringing Arata to her lap. END